A Tesla Cybertruck exploded near the Trump International Hotel Las Vegas, killing the driver and injuring seven other people.
The incident comes just hours after a man drove a truck into a crowd celebrating New Year’s Day in New Orleans, killing 15 people.
The FBI Special Agent in Charge Jeremy Schwartz later told reporters that it was still unclear whether the explosion was an act of terrorism.
I know everybody’s interested in that word, and trying to see if we can say, ‘Hey, this is a terrorist attack.’ That is our goal, and that’s what we’re trying to do.
Meanwhile, Tesla owner Elon Musk said the explosion was not related to the Cybertruck itself, citing telemetry. Telemetry involves automatically collecting data from remote sources and transmitting it to a central source for further analysis.
We have now confirmed that the explosion was caused by very large fireworks and/or a bomb carried in the bed of the rented Cybertruck and is unrelated to the vehicle itself. All vehicle telemetry was positive at the time of the explosion.
The Cybertruck and the vehicle used in the New Orleans attack, were both rented through Turo car-sharing service. A Turo spokesperson said the company did not believe that any of the vehicle renters involved in the Las Vegas and New Orleans attacks had criminal records.
We are actively partnering with law enforcement authorities as they investigate both incidents.
The Cybertruck pulled up to Trump’s building at 8:40 a.m. local time (16:40 GMT). Las Vegas firefighters responded four minutes after the vehicle was reported on fire and extinguished it. The two victims were taken to hospitals with minor injuries.
